Scattered Memories
by FuyuKaze
Summary: Instead of meeting the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai, Shindou Hikaru received something more interesting during his contact with the Goban. After all, memories of an unknown legend in the Go world are kind of mind blowing…
1. PreGame

**Scattered Memories**

_By FuyuKaze_

**Summary: **Instead of meeting the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai, Shindou Hikaru received something more interesting during his contact with the _Goban_. After all, memories of an unknown legend in the _Go_ world are kind of mind blowing…

**Notes:** I have decided to take up a story about Hikaru no Go. The development will be slow and unfortunately, Sai will not be present _per se_ in the Hikaru no Go world. You'll understand when you reach the end.

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PREGAME – THE GOBAN

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途い思い出のようなちぎれた夢

ちぎれた夢のような途い思い出

つなぎ合わせたいんだ。。。

一生に

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Shindou Hikaru sighed lowly as he and his companion have safely entered his grandfather's shed without alerting anyone. His tensed shoulders soon relaxed as he grinned and looked at his childhood friend. Fujisaki Akari was reluctant at first, but after a good constant pleading from the boy, she quickly relented to his pleas.

'So what exactly are we looking for here Hikaru' the question eerily echoed in the dark room as they both climbed up the ladder. The girl shivered, as she grew colder from her wet clothing. The rain started to get stronger as they made their way towards their destination and she could have sworn she heard thunder while they were running.

The partially bleached haired boy gave a small groan as he rummaged through the large box. His eyes scanned through the various items, trying to find something of value. 'Looking for anything of value, but none of these things are of value' his answer was followed with a sigh of exasperation.

'So can we leave now then? I'm starting to feel cold and it's creepy in here' the girl pleaded. Her eyes caught the boy's frown turn into a smile. Hikaru bent down, lifted the rather heavy board, and settled it down safely as soon as he got it out of the box.

'It can't be helped Akari, because I got another crappy score on my exam my parents cut off my allowance again' he explained using a tone the girl was used to by now. The young sixth grader was completely into money and he cared more for it than his schooling. His love for money only came second to his love for soccer.

'Is that a table for _gomoku narabe_?' Hikaru shrugged his shoulders in response. He eyed the board carefully and was quite surprised to see that it was still in an acceptable condition. He would have considered it in _mint_ condition if it weren't for that annoying stain on the board.

'Hikaru what are you doing?' Akari asked as she watched her classmate wiping a corner with extreme gusto. She found it rather odd since there was no dust of any removable stains on the section he was fervently wiping with his sleeve.

'You can't see the red stains?' he asked her, not looking back to see her puzzled expression. He heard a low puff of annoyance before the girl behind him walked away, intending on waiting for him on the bottom. Sighing in frustration, he placed his left hand on what he thought were bloodstains.

As soon as his hand made contact with that particular section of the board, his eyes widened as flashes of images entered his mind. They were strange images in his point of view. He saw many things: people wearing clothing that emperors used to wear, strange outfit worn by others, samurais, swords, fans, boards, white stones, black stones, water –lots and lots of water–, people bowing, kimonos, more boards, the same white and black stones scattered across the board, more bowing, and blood. These flashes of images and more entered one by one in quick succession, no single break between each image.

'Hikaru, what's taking you so long?' the boy's companion asked as she waited at the bottom of the stairs. It's been at least five minutes since she descended and Hikaru still didn't come down with the board he was going to pawn off. It was quite strange as the board was in perfect condition. She didn't understand what her bleached banged haired friend was worrying about, after all, they weren't any red stains anywhere on the board.

'GAAAH-!' the sudden frightening yell broke her out of her musings as she looked up towards the source of the noise. Her eyes widened as she heard a loud _thud_ upstairs. Fearing for the worst, she climbed back up, only to find that Hikaru was on the cold ground floor of his grandfather's shack.

Shindou Hikaru lay near the _goban_ and shivered as he grabbed his head in pain. The images were fresh and the amount of information he received was too much. The last thing he saw and heard was the worried face and voice of his red haired friend…

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'_Otou-sama, what is that?' asked a perplexed child. He wore a long white kimono and had long dark purplish hair. His deep purple eyes stared at the board his father had set down earlier. The large 19x19 board was fascinating and the two bowls that lay on top of it brought more questions to the young boy. It was only his third birthday and he already grew accustomed to anything that resembled highly intellectual activities._

'_This, Sai, is a goban. From today onwards, I shall teach you the intricacies of Go' the small boy nodded his head in excitement, although clearly not knowing what Go was. It sounder rather interesting at the very least._

'_I shall work hard to learn this otou-sama' the small child said as he bowed to his father. The older man smiled lightly as his youngest child, however, his smile soon turned into a frown. A frown that indicated his displeasure of the severe infraction he was about to do as a father._

'_Very well Sai, we shall begin now'_

_That was when the dreams started. Shindou Hikaru, from that day on, dreamt of stone: stones that presented the shapes of battles… both of victory and of defeat…_

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**End Note:** Horrible? Yeah I know something that just didn't want to leave my mind after reading Esa MaRie's _Lost Memories_. It was awesome! Anyways, whether you liked it or not, it doesn't really matter to me. If I see that people actually want me to continue, I'll go for it. If people don't like it and want me to discontinue, I'll still work on this, although with less gusto.

Hikaru no Go seems a bit easier to write to me than what I'm planning with my upcoming Digimon story. That thing has plot holes everywhere that I can't get rid of. I think the difficulty in here would be writing a story of an overpowered Hikaru, but I'm thinking about that already.


	2. Game I

**Scattered Memories**

_By FuyuKaze_

**Summary: **Instead of meeting the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai, Shindou Hikaru received something more interesting during his contact with the _Goban_. After all, memories of an unknown legend in the _Go_ world are kind of mind blowing…

**Notes:** I have decided to take up a story about Hikaru no Go. The development will be slow and unfortunately, Sai will not be present _per se_ in the Hikaru no Go world. You'll understand when you reach the end.

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GAME I – THE BASICS

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You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives

-Clay P. Bedford

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_Sai watched carefully as his father knelt ceremoniously in front of the goban. At his father's light nod, the purple haired boy knew he had to replicate the older man's action. Grinning mentally, Sai followed the same graceful movements his father done and knelt in front of the board._

'_Sai, what you will learn will be the intricacies of Go… It will not be an easy task as it is a life learning and changing game of intellect and of trials' the man paused, noticing how enraptured his son was in his speech 'once you have grasped the basics, you will be on your own to develop your Go'_

_The purple haired boy nodded in understanding as he watched his father carefully._

'_Go first came from our brother isles before being known in Japan. It is a game played by two players to create a beautiful game filled with battles. Unlike Shougi which is used in many strategic warfare, Go is used more for harmonious occasions' his father took a breath here as he stared at the curious gazed his son gave him._

'_Just like any other game, winning in Go is the objective. However, winning is not the priority of Go' the confused gaze Sai adopted made him sigh. It was, after all, a different concept than what his son was used to. After all, the boy had been introduced to Shougi not long ago._

'_If winning is not a priority otou-sama, what exactly is?' the question brought a grin to the older man's face. After all, the majority of the people introduced to this game usually questioned the priority of winning._

'_That, my dear son, is for you to find out!'_

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Green eyes finally met full white as the young boy laying on the hospital bed regained consciousness. The confused boy scanned the room, not knowing his current location nor about his current predicament.

'Hikaru! You're finally awake!' his eyes shifted from the machine on his right towards the door located at the far end right corner. He smiled brightly at his red haired friend, finally finding a sense of familiarity around the bland room.

'Hey Akari, where exactly am I?' the sudden pouting face the girl made left him in an embarrassed state of mind. From the looks of it, his location should have been easily deduced. Shindou Hikaru, however, didn't really pay much attention to details.

'You're in the hospital dummy Hikaru! Everyone was worried when you collapsed. Luckily your grandfather entered the shed when you did!' memories of the strange event that happened during that day replayed in his mind. Not really understanding it much, he focused more on the fact that he had failed in his mission.

'Ah man! Now how am I supposed to get money!' he grabbed his head in frustration. He was positive that his grandfather had already contacted his parents and that he'd be thoroughly scolded about his behaviour. Furthermore, he was sure his allowance would be withheld for another week. That and his grandfather would surely be locking access to the shed or anything of value in the house.

He shivered lightly as he felt eyes stare at him in completely disappointment. Looking towards the door, he found his parents staring at him with a calm yet very stern look on their faces. The partially bleached haired boy couldn't do anything but gulp and chuckle nervously…

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Shindou Hikaru sighed as he folded his exam paper messily before stashing it in his bag. School was something he found to be boring. He would rather be outside playing soccer than inside room learning about the smaller things in life. The fact that he wasn't good at any subject did not help him study harder in any material taught at school. His mother kept on giving him speeches that school was very important, especially for your future. He, however, did not find it so.

Their last mathematical examination was a complete and utter disaster. Not only did he once again fail, but also hadn't managed to get twenty percent. If his parents were mad at him about his actions a few days ago, they'd be even more furious at finding out he had failed once again. Instead of waiting a week for his allowance, he had to wait two and when they found out about his botched exam, he was sure he wouldn't see the sign of money until next month.

That was actually the least of his worries though. Ever since that incident, he kept on getting these strange dreams. The strange dreams made no sense to him and it differed greatly from his real ones. Of course, the happy going Hikaru would have just ignored it; however, they were all related. Instead of his normal dreams of being a soccer champion or being rich, he was dreaming a series of related dreams. Like something from a storybook. Not to mention, apparently his vocabulary has gotten better as he found out he knew words he never even knew during Japanese class.

He snapped himself from his thoughts as he finally arrived at his destination. Looking at the surprise but weary and disappointed look his grandfather was giving him a few feet away, the partially bleached haired boy sighed. That look assured Hikaru that he would be staying longer than what he had originally intended on staying…

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'I accept your apology Hikaru. However, don't expect me to be lending you money just because of this' the old man said with a stern face. The boy merely sighed and nodded his head. After all, he didn't expect his grandfather to help him out after his recent shenanigan.

The young boy glanced at the clock and flinched lightly. He was going to be late for dinner and he didn't want to anger his mother more than she already was. Standing up, the young boy stretched and yawned loudly, closing his eyes in the process. Once he reopened them, his gaze fell on a single board at the corner of the room.

He titled his head lightly to his left and raised a brow. Shindou Heihachi followed the partially bleached haired boy's gaze towards his rather dusty _goban_.

'That's a _goban_ Hikaru. You play _Go_ on it' Hikaru blinked before turning towards his grandfather. Something in his head kept on pushing him to play this so-called _Go_, but he knew nothing about it. Cringing at the thought of seeing his mother's face filled with rage later on, the young student nodded his head.

'Oh? Do you even know how to play?' his grandfather asked with curiosity. After all, a few months ago Hikaru had been insulting the game like there was no tomorrow. Calling it an old man's game and as boorish as school.

Hikaru, on his part, would have said an immediate no, if it weren't for the fact that something in his head was giving him a migraine. Multiple flashes of instructions went through his mind, explaining various things he did not understand. He shook his head lightly and just nodded confusedly at his grandfather.

Heihachi smirked and noticed the rather confused affirmative his grandson gave him. He shrugged mentality, thinking a bit of humility might give the boy a new look at the game for old men.

'Alright then, just to be sure, I'll be giving you a reminder about the basics before we start a match' Hikaru just nodded once again, wanting to get rid of the migraine or whatever was making his head hurt. He followed his grandfather towards the _goban_ and mimicked the old man's seated position. As soon as he was seated, he noticed that his headache lessened and he gave a mental sigh.

'Now Hikaru, the goal of _Go_ is to make your territory larger than your opponents…' Heihachi started with the intent of explaining the game to his grandson. After all, the look on Hikaru's face when he answered yes to his question seemed too shaky. The elder Shindou just thought of it as his grandson trying to show off as he usually did in many situations.

Hikaru listened closely to his grandfather and his headache lessened the more the old man went through the basics of _Go_. He didn't understand most of them, hearing words such as liberty, _Atari,_ ladder, eyes, _semeai_, _uttegaeshi_, _ko_, and many more words relating to the game's mechanic and techniques.

'Got all of that Hikaru?' the elder Shindou asked. Hikaru just nodded plainly and blinked at the board a few times before turning his gaze towards his grandfather.

'Alright then, let's start. I'll play a _shidougo_ with you and we'll play with no _komi_ to get you started. Here, you can go first' he handed the bowl containing the black stones to Hikaru.

'Now you would want to usually start…' before he even gave the partially bleached haired boy a tip on the opening move, Hikaru had placed his stone in 17-16, just one spot beside Hikaru's upper right _hoshi_ point…

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Shindou Heihachi wasn't one to falter in a game of _Go_. Despite the fact that he wasn't a pro or never was an _insei_, the elder Shindou was one of the top-notch amateur players in his area. That didn't really mean much to the other areas, but it still meant that he would have had no problem with a beginner, someone who had never touched the game before.

He had played a few _shidougo_ before in his earlier years against curious students and he had never had much of a challenge against any of them. Of course, he was sure that any rising start like Touya Akira, who started learning it since he was a toddler, would soundly defeat him, the normal kids who had never even heard of the _Go_ before would have no chance against him.

That was the same thoughts he had when he started the game against his grandson. He was rather surprised to see his grandson placing his first stone right beside a _hoshi_ point. It was quite reminiscent of _Hon'inbou Shuusaku's _style of opening. He had shrugged that move off and played as he normally would in a _shidougo_.

As the game progressed, he got more and more impressed at how Hikaru was playing. Not only was he holding his stones properly, the boy was also holding fairly well. He had noticed many mistakes Hikaru had made during the course of the game, but his grandson was able to stay on his feet.

However, those thoughts were reserved for before Hikaru's latest move. Shindou Heihachi was nervous as he stared at not one nor two, but four of the previously dead spots Hikaru had in the game. With just one move, he was able to make four of his little sectors connect and alive again.

The old man gulped and he tried to see further into the game. He tried to see something that might save him, cause that lone connect had now placed him on the defence. If he didn't defend properly, his entire territory on the bottom right would be annihilated.

'Gah! Mom is so going to kill me! I'm sorry grandpa but I have to go!' Hikaru shouted as his eyes landed on the clock in the room. It had been a good two hours since they started the lessons in _Go_ and started their first game. The student didn't even wait for a response from his grandfather as he rushed off from his seated position and ran out of the room, grabbing his bag in the process.

Shindou Heihachi let out a breath he was holding and let out a relieved sigh. Shakily putting back the stone, he held in his sweaty hand back into its bowl, the elder Shindou stared at the board and the intricate shapes the black stones formed. He grunted, as he couldn't remember the moves of the game as he continued to decipher on how his grandson was able to do such a thing.

He sat there for a good half an hour before he finally let out a chuckle. A thought hit him and he chuckled even louder. He walked towards his phone and began dialling a number. Yes, Shindou Hikaru was a prodigy in the making, now young boy just needed to sharpen his game. However, he had to make sure of his assessment and what better way than to bring him to his old _Go_ salon…

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Hikaru didn't know why that night, but when he got home, he was happy. It didn't matter that his mother was yelling at him and scolding him. It didn't even bother him that he got an extended grounding from his mother. Playing that old man's game had relaxed made him relax and gave him a feeling of joy. Why it did that? He honestly did not know. However, it didn't matter to him as he easily slept after lying on his bed.

'_Makemashita, otou-sama' the young boy resigned as he placed the stone he held in his hand back into its bowl. Raising his head up to see his father, he couldn't help but be confused at the grinned plastered on the man's face._

'_That was a beautiful game Sai' his father said as he bowed lightly. The young boy blinked a few times before smiling lightly at his father. _

'_Yes it was otou-sama. However I still lost, even after playing this game for a week, I'm still not good enough to best you' he frowned at that. His father, on the other hand, shook his head before letting out a small and hearty chuckle._

'_You still have much growing up to do Sai… I have no doubts you will rise as a legend in the Go world' the eldest in the room looked at his son. The boy was a true prodigy and he was sure that his son would one day beat him. Maybe he'll even be the first to reach the Kami no Itte._

'_Hai otou-sama… would you play another with me?' the boy said, completely changing his sad demeanour into a happy one. His only response was a full hearty laugh from his father as they both removed the stones from the goban._

_That night, Shindou Hikaru dreamt of stones battling on a board. He dreamt of the frightening dance of stones making territory and taking territory. He dreamt of stones battling, but working together to reach the well sought Kami no Itte…_

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That's it for this chapter folks. I was rather surprised to see that many reviews in the get go. As for why it took this long, I had to familiarize myself with Hikaru no Go again. In addition, I had school and exams to take care of first… However, since this isn't one of my crazy projects of being extremely long, this will see more updates than the others will. Hell, I have another story coming up soon.

Horrible? Awesome? Meh, doesn't really matter to me. I write because I love writing and that's that. By the way, I'll have a site up depicting the statuses of my stories so you people can stay updated and make sure I haven't left the story writing!


	3. Game II

**Scattered Memories**

_By FuyuKaze_

**Summary: **Instead of meeting the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai, Shindou Hikaru received something more interesting during his contact with the _Goban_. After all, memories of an unknown legend in the _Go_ world are kind of mind blowing…

**Notes:** I have decided to take up a story about Hikaru no Go. The development will be slow and unfortunately, Sai will not be present _per se_ in the Hikaru no Go world. You'll understand when you reach the end.

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GAME II – SENSEI

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Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm, and enthusiasm can only be aroused by two things: first, an ideal, with takes the imagination by storm, and second, a definite intelligible plan for carrying that ideal into practice.  
-Arnold J. Toynbee

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_Sai was ecstatic. Months have passed since his initialization in Go. Months were he trained long and hard to understand the game in all of its glory. He practiced hard against challenging opponents, losing multiple games in the process, but never dithering from his goal to reach his father's level._

_After a month of playing against his father and losing badly, the purple haired boy resolved himself to grow stronger. Not only did he work fervently in his political training to better serve the imperial court, but he also trained fervently in Go._

_The boy's father couldn't help but smile at his son's antics. The young boy was growing leaps and bounds in Go and it seemed that his son would reach his level soon enough. It scared the man quite a bit. Because he was sure that, his son would surpass him later on. When that happened, Sai would have to scour the Earth to find a worthy opponent. For, whether the young boy knew it or not, he was already walking the path in finding the Kami no Itte…_

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Hikaru yawned loudly as the bell rang, letting the residence know that school has finally ended. It had been a week since his last meeting with his grandfather and he had received a call requesting him to visit him after school today. He found that rather strange and he was quite perplexed, more so than usual, since his grandfather never asked him to visit before.

Shrugging lightly, the young boy grabbed his History book and put it in his gym back haphazardly. He never really cared about History, not that he gave any particular course in school any care, but History would be his top one least favourite course. What was the point of learning it anyways? He didn't see any usefulness in knowing that the _Taihou-ritsuryou_ was enacted at the end of the _Asuka_ period. Nor did he see the point in knowing that the compiler of the administrative organization was done so at the direction of some Prince _Osakabe_ and _Awata_ _no _Mahito and Fujiwara_ no Fuhito_ at the request of Emperor _Mommu _or something of the sort.

Although he didn't like History at all, he began being well versed in the subject. He had realized during the week that he knew stuff about things that his _sensei_ had probably omitted discussing because it wasn't in the course work or something of the sort. He was even more surprised when he had answered all the questions on his quiz of the week a few minutes ago. He usually never wrote anything down and randomly circled answers in the multiple choices.

'Hikaru!' the young boy was cut off his thoughts as his red haired friend waved and greeted him.

'Hey Akari' he greeted simply and prepared himself to tuned whatever Akari would begin saying. He mentally sighed as the red haired girl started ranting about how _hard_ the History quiz was. Instead of tuning her out as he normally would when she began any of her rants, he listened in carefully.

'… and what was up with the question of the _Fujiwara _clan? Sensei only spoke of them once and I don't recall reading anything in our book about them other than their usefulness during the _Heian _era. How was I supposed to know the answer to "State how the _Fujiwara_ clan was _founded_ then name a few achievements its founder has accomplished"' the partially bleached haired boy rolled his eyes at that, and before he even knew it, he already had started speaking.

'The _Fujiwara_ clan was founded when Emperor _Tenji_ granted _Nakatomi no Kamatari_ the name _Fujiwara_ as a reward for his loyal service to the sovereign. I think it also helped since he was a friend and supporter of Emperor _Tenji_ who was Prince _Naka no Oue_ before becoming Emperor. As for achievements,' Hikaru took a pause here, paying no attention to the rather shocked face of Akari, '_Kamatari _and the Prince made a coup d'état in the court and slew _Soga no Iruka _in front of Empress _Kougyoku_, which indirectly killed his father _Soga no Emishi_ who committed suicide the next day.'

Hikaru closed his shoe locker, 'If I remember, the coup was because he was the head of _Jingi no Haku_. As for other achievements, he was appointed _naidaijin_ then helped write the _Taika no Kaishin_' Hikaru's eyes landed on the clock in the room and grimaced. He was late and his grandfather didn't like it when he was late either.

'Gah! I'm late! Look at what you made me do Akari! Why did I stay and tell you the answer I wrote down! Grandpa is going to hit me with his _bokken_ again!' he growled out in frustration and started his long run towards his grandfather's house.

Akari stood there, looking at the young boy getting smaller and smaller as their distance grew. She stood there, mouth agape at what she had just heard. Who would have thought that Shindou Hikaru would have answered a question that Akari wasn't able to answer…

… … … … … … … …

Shindou Heihachi laughed mirthfully as he saw his grandson running towards him at full speed. He knew Hikaru would be late, that was why he told his grandson to meet him an hour before their planned departure. After all, today would be quite a sight.

It had been a week since his game with Hikaru. A week has passed since he was shocked to his core. A week since his discovery of Hikaru's hidden potential. A week since he has called the other boy protégé he had met a few years ago. A week since he has been waiting to introduce his grandson to said protégé.

'Ah Hikaru, just in time' Heihachi smiled as he saw the now panting boy before him. He waited patiently for the boy to regain his breath.

'Okay grandpa, what's with calling me out all of a sudden?' the question was laced with quite a curious tone, causing the elder Shindou to chuckle quietly.

'You played so well last time that I wanted to introduce you to someone' the partially bleached haired boy titled his head in confusion, not knowing exactly what his grandfather was saying.

'Remember our little _Go_ match Hikaru?' the student let out a small "oh" of an expression before giving his grandfather another look of confusion.

'I want you to play a game with someone I know' the two members of the Shindou family were already walking towards their destination as Heihachi patiently explained to the still perplexed Hikaru. He heard another "oh" coming from his grandson's mouth, until a quite vocal "eh" resounded right afterwards.

'You called me so I can play that old man's game? I thought you were finally caving and going to give me some money!' the elder Shindou chuckled again and resumed his walking. Hikaru grumbled under his breath before following his grandfather once again to who knows where.

The rest of the walk was silent. Hikaru kept on grumbling about how old men games were stupid and boring. While the young boy continued to complain during their walk, Heihachi surreptitiously gaze at his grandson from time to time. Last week, the boy's views on the game were rather different from what he was showing now.

'Oi old man, what took you so long? _Mendokuse_…' Hikaru looked towards the source of the voice and raised a brow. The voice belonged to a person that looked no older than sixteen years old. His black hair was styled into a pineapple.

'Ah, I apologize for my tardiness. Anyways, this is who I want you to play with' the eldest Shindou pulled his grandson over and placed the boy in front of him, displaying Hikaru to the pineapple haired teenager.

'This is the brat huh? Well let's go, I already wasted some of my cloud gazing time waiting for you' the teenager sighed lightly before turning around and entering the door he had been leaning on. Hikaru looked upwards to the sign and raised a brow at its name: Will of Fire…

… … … … … … … …

Hikaru growled in frustration. He was currently losing his seventh game against the pineapple haired teenager sitting across from him. Heck, he didn't even know why he continued playing against the man. Maybe it was from his need to smirk the arrogant smirk off the pineapple haired man's face.

'_Mendokuse_…' the pineapple haired man said as he looked at the newly formed board before him. The more the boy became frustrated from his lost, the more he had to think up of the possible scenarios. At first, the man didn't even need to think, easily seeing the boy's traps despite their cleverness.

Now, the man had to look a few moves in advance to avoid being ensnared by the subtle traps the boy kept on placing on the board. Shindou Hikaru would be a force to reckon with, maybe even reaching his playing level within a good few years of constant playing. Now, however, the young student lacked enthusiasm for the game.

The potential Hikaru had made him quite curious. It reminded him so much of himself that it was quite a troublesome thought to think of. He mentally chuckled as he remembered the first game they played a few hours ago. It was quite funny to see him winning by a good sixty _moku_, and funny as the young boy didn't even know the proper way to resign.

The second and third game resulted once again in a good forty to fifty _moku_ in the man's favour. It seemed that the boy refused to give up. However, the fourth to seventh game all resulted in the resignation of the young boy. At least Hikaru was learning something.

The pineapple haired teen silently watched Hikaru as the boy thought about his next move. The games he played with the boy were quite interesting. The boy before him reminded him of a weaker version of _Hon′inbou Shuusaku_ slowly modernizing his _Go_. He chuckled mentally as he heard the boy resigning again. It seemed that fate was troublesome again. He had honestly thought that in this life, he would have avoided the teaching affair; after all, it was seriously troublesome.

'Would you like to get better at this?' the man chuckled lightly as he saw the conflicting emotion plastered on the boy's face.

Hikaru didn't know why, but playing _Go_ was fun. The whole idea of it being an old man's game now seemed ludicrous to him. He just hoped no one from school found out he was playing this game. Sighing lightly, the partially bleached haired boy looked at the pineapple haired teenager across from him. At least he would have something to do now that he still didn't have money.

'Wouldn't hurt me much now would it? Sure, I'll take you up on your offer pineapple head!' he grinned as he finally saw an annoyed expression on the man's face. During the whole time, the man had either a bored expression plastered on his face or the occasional amused look. Furthermore, Hikaru had just noticed that he didn't even know the man's name

Shindou Heihachi just laughed as he saw the exchange between the two. The past few hours were something. It was quite a remarkable sight.

'_Mendokuse_… Pineapple head? If you must call me something, the name's…'

… … … … … … … …

'_Sugoi! You are good at this mister' the young purple haired boy smiled joyfully as he looked at the board. He had lost horribly, by a good sixtyish moku, yet he did not feel angry at all. He was disappointed he had lost by so much, but the game was so beautifully played that he did not mind._

'_Mendokuse… you were interesting during the game too boy' the man said as he relooked at the board. The subtle hints of traps strategically placed during the game got him interested in the purple haired boy's potential. After all, it was rare for anyone to lose to him by around sixty moku nowadays._

'_Tell you what brat, come back here tomorrow and we'll play again' the man saw the shine in the boy's eyes and he couldn't help but chuckle at youth's enthusiasm for the game. It was rare that kids played Go and even rarer to see someone so enthusiastic about it._

'_Thank you mister, I shall return tomorrow for another wondrous game!' the young purple haired kid smiled largely as he stood up from his position after cleaning the board from the stones._

'_No problem kid, I'll even teach you a thing or two, despite how troublesome it would be' he once again chuckled at the excited expression he saw flashing through the boy's eyes._

'_And for the future, my name's Nara Shikamaru…' he said as he had placed a black stone in tengen._

_Hikaru dreamt that night. He dreamt of black and white stones gracefully dancing together to create something. He dreamt of black and white stone moving together to reach something that seemed impossible to reach. He dreamt of the stones being intricately placed fervently, not to decide on a winner between black and white, but to create something divine. _

_He dreamt of trying to reach the Kami no Itte…_

… … … … … … … …

**AN**: Well that's about it for this chapter. Yay for Shikamaru! Seriously awesome character and all that. Anyways, that's it for now, don't think I'll be able to release another chapter before the new year.

So Merry Christmas everyone and I guess you can consider this a gift and all. Furthermore, if I don't update before 2011, then I also wish you a Happy New Year!


	4. Game III

**Scattered Memories**

_By FuyuKaze_

**Summary: **Instead of meeting the ghost of Fujiwara no Sai, Shindou Hikaru received something more interesting during his contact with the _Goban_. After all, memories of an unknown legend in the _Go_ world are kind of mind blowing…

**Notes:** I have decided to take up a story about Hikaru no Go. The development will be slow and unfortunately, Sai will not be present _per se_ in the Hikaru no Go world. You'll understand when you reach the end.

**Disclaimers:** I honestly forgot to put this at first… Anyways, I do not own Hikaru no Go or Nara Shikamaru.

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GAME III – TRAINING

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On the mountains of truth, you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.  
-Friedrich Nietzsche

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'_Sai, calm yourself' the pineapple haired master calmly advised his young purple haired student. It had only been a month since he had taken the young Sai as his pupil and he was amazed by the boy's progress. Not that Sai was near his level of course. No, he was amazed by how Sai had forced him to think for a few seconds here and there. That certainly was a feat, as he never really paid any heed to his opponent's moves. After all, after the first few moves, he had already the end game played out in his mind._

'_I don't understand Shikamaru-sensei! I'm not getting closer to beating you and it's been a month already!' the teacher sighed as he continued to patiently wait for the boy's outrage to subside. Youngsters, to him these days, seemed to be excessively focused on winning. Not that winning was a bad thing mind you, but always wanting to win and not being able to accept defeat. Where was the point in that? Then again, who was he to question their drive? It was their life and it was too troublesome to interfere anyways. _

'_Troublesome kid… If I recall, you have only been losing by a good twenty mokus nowadays Sai-kun' the pineapple haired man spoke softly once more after a few seconds of silence. It seemed that Sai needed to gather his breath again before continuing his tiresome tirade._

'_That does not mean anything positive to me Shikamaru-sensei' Sai's teacher sighed once again. He had noticed the boy getting restless from losing and losing every single match for the past month, but he had no idea that it would end up this bad. Nevertheless, Shikamaru was a patient person. If he was patient, enough to join in the troublesome path of reaching the Kami no Itte, then dealing with a kid that still did not know the importance of the game was nothing. After all, the last time he had counted, he had to deal with two others like the young boy before him in his past lifetimes._

_Shaking his head and muttering a quiet, yet audible, "mendokuse", the teacher quickly cleared the goban of all the stones. It would too troublesome to explain and it was usually something one learnt anyways. Unlike shougi where winning was a necessity, considering its extreme use in war tactics, Go was more refined. It was cooperation between the two players to reach a beautiful end within a fierce game of tactics and strategizing._

'_Be patient kid. You're still too young to know the importance of Go anyways' seeing the young boy nodding and hearing the kid growling in frustration, Shikamaru let out another sigh while mentally thinking about how troublesome this kid was being. With a determined drive not to give up on the kid now, he bowed lowly and offered to play another game. Sai bowed as well and growled once more as he opted to try out something different this time._

_Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the strange opening. To him, it seemed that Sai wanted to take him on with a tengen opening. Chuckling mentally, his thoughts went back to thinking on what a troublesome pupil he had picked up. Of course he wouldn't abandon him now of all times. After all, he knew that his already troublesome life would become even more so if he ever abandoned the young boy as his apprentice…_

… … … … … … … … … …

Shindou Hikaru sweated profusely as he stared at the board before him. He unconsciously gulped as he shakily held the black stone in his hand. Looking fervently at the board, his mind tried to find a way to salvage his current situation. This was currently his third game of the day and it wasn't fairing any better than his previous games. Then again, he was playing against a ludicrously lazy but intelligent man. As his eyes scanned the _goban_ once more, his mind finally gave in.

'_Makemashita_, _sensei_' the partially bleached haired boy sighed as he felt a great weight lifted. Playing against Shikamaru-_sensei_ was extremely stressing. The large amount of people crowding them was not to pleasing as well. During the beginning of his training, his _sensei _trained him in private, away from prying eyes. However, just a week ago, they had begun playing in the Will of Fire, making their training sessions public.

To say that the extra pairs of eyes watching his game was unnerving would have been quite an understatement. It was freaking distracting. It was even more distracting when hushed whispers resonated in his ears and more so when they were audible comments about his _Go_. To make matters worse, his _sensei_ kept on giving him that annoying look of his. The same looked that irked him to no end ever since he had met the lazy genius.

'Seems you're not used to the troublesome people' the words shook the boy out of his thoughts. He glared at his _sensei_ as well as growled at the man in frustration. He had to admit that playing _Go_ was more fun than he had previously thought, but that didn't mean he wanted anyone to know he actually played the game. It seemed that his _sensei_ thought that the young boy wanted to go public with his _Go_ or something of the sort.

'Why do I even have to get used to them' he kept his glare on his _sensei_, not faltering one bit. Shikamaru mentally sighed. Seriously, what did he do in his past life to get in this kind of situation? That thought was quickly discarded as he might have come up with troublesome theories. He didn't want to deal with anything excessively troublesome, even if his current student is reaching that point.

'You still have a lot to learn kid' Shikamaru said with a sigh. Clearing the board game, he motioned towards the clock. Hikaru's eyes followed the movement and soon widened at the time. His mom was going to kill him! Cursing mentally, the young boy bade his _sensei_ goodbye before running out of the store as fast as his legs allowed him too.

The surrounding people that were watching the game mumbled to themselves as they moved away from the table. Shikamaru sighed as he watched the customers go back to their affairs. The few _Go_ players would probably try to recreate the game he had played. After all, he knew that they were perplexed by the game, since his newest protégé played the game with thoughts way ahead of what the spectators were capable. Hikaru had a knack of seeing moves further than what the regular folks can see and he was quite sure that he saw further than _inseis_. He was certain that some of the lower level pros would fall into Hikaru's subtle and merciless traps.

Memories of his first protégé flashed through his mind. They, Hikaru and Sai, had quite the similar game play. Yet Hikaru possessed more of a brash and daring attitude than Sai at first. Not to mention that the boy was easily distracted compared to his pupil from ages ago. He was aware of things others weren't and he could come up with multiple theories on Hikaru's strange likeliness to Sai or, better yet, Hon'inbou Shuusaku. However, doing so would cause him more trouble than what he was willing to take.

With a mental sigh, the pineapple haired man shrugged and moved towards the back. It was time to take out more of the _shougi_ stocks for his usual customers…

… … … … … … … … … …

Akari narrowed her eyes as she spotted Hikaru leaving a store, running for his dear life. She was rather surprised to see him not hanging out with his soccer friends. It was even more surprising that he was actually near a shopping district. It was nearly impossible to drag Shindou Hikaru near a shopping district ever since that incident with her, his mother, and him.

Shaking her head out of her thoughts, she turned her gaze towards the store he had just left. Raising a brow at the rather peculiar name, she decided to peek at the inside of Will of Fire. After all, what kind of store manager would name their store such a ridiculous name? Maybe they sold fireworks or something of the sort. Once again shaking her head out of her thoughts, the young girl proceeded towards the building.

Seeing through the windows, she spotted a large number of elderly people playing a board game. She peered at the brown shapes being moved about and soon recognized them. They were pieces for _shougi_. The board game said to emulate a war like scenario.

That was rather confusing. What would Shindou Hikaru be doing here of all places? Looking around, the girl tried locating Shindou Heihachi, but to no avail. So if Hikaru didn't go here to find his grandfather, then what exactly was he doing in such a place? She pondered on what to do as she started to get more curious.

Hikaru had been acting differently all week and it surprised her a lot. Scratch that, Hikaru's sudden abilities during history class shocked her, as well as the rest of the school populace. Japanese class was apparently something Hikaru had also taken seriously, if his grades weren't an indication. Furthermore, the other courses he managed to get passable grades. They might not the best, but they were passable nonetheless.

That made not only her, but also everyone else that knew Hikaru to be quite curious about the sudden increase in academics. It was bizarre to hear the boy actually answer questions during class, and it was even weirder that he sometimes adds a bit more information to whatever their history teacher was giving them.

She had also noticed that Hikaru acted less brash and less impulsive. They were times when it looked like he was going to join into a useless argument with his friends, but ended up not saying anything back. He, instead, easily manoeuvred the conversation into something else entirely. His friends, being the typical simple-minded soccer players they were, quickly forgot about whatever they were talking about and joined the bandwagon.

Further things she noticed that Shindou Hikaru actually entered the library. She had spotted him walking around the school one day all surreptitiously. That was the day that she had actually followed someone in secret. Akari was a curious person and whenever something piqued her curiosity, she wouldn't be sated until it was fulfilled to the fullest. Therefore, it was on that day that she had learned that Hikaru actually entered the school's library. Seeing him enter answered a few of her questions. Questions on how Hikaru actually know stuff. To her, it looked liked the boy was actually studying nowadays. She kept note, however, of the sad expression he had the next time she saw him.

However, the partially bleached haired boy actually entered the library to see if it had anything _Go_ related. To his utter disappointed he couldn't find anything of the sort on his own, since he didn't even know the first thing about the library. Akari had left after following her friend to his "secret" location and moved out to join her friends. After all, it was lunchtime.

She had finally dismissed her curiosity. It remained that way until a few weeks ago when the boy started asking people questions about dealing with stage frights. It was random, very random. So random in fact that no one really knew how to answer him. They, instead, asked him why he was asking them such a thing. That usually caused Hikaru to frowned lightly before shaking his head and replying with a "never mind".

Then the boy began mumbling things when he thought no one was listening. They were things that sounded like a bundle of coordinates, ranging from 2-6 to other such combinations. They thought that the boy was going crazy with all of the mathematic materials they were learning and dismissed it as such. Akari did as well and her curiosity died down once more.

Now, however, she once again got curious. What was Hikaru doing in a _shougi_ place? Might all of those change in behaviour he was showing were related in some sort of way? Maybe those weird coordinates' thing he was mumbling wasn't for math class but for this very board game. That day when she caught him sneaking into the library, maybe the boy was looking for something _shougi_ related and did not find one. After all, it seemed like Hikaru didn't want anyone finding out about his apparent newfound interest.

Yes, she was curious and today increased her curiosity even more. With a mental sigh, Akari stepped inside the building; not knowing that in doing so would change a part of her life…

… … … … … … … … … …

Hikaru growled in annoyance as he finally got home. His games with Shikamaru-_sensei_ lasted for a good while. That was why he usually went there quite early. To avoid his parents' questions, he gave an excuse about soccer playing with his friends the morning. He really didn't want anyone to know that he was playing that old peoples' game.

Today, however, the games lasted a bit longer than usual. When the crowd first started to watch his games with Shikamaru-_sensei_, he was nervous and all. However, that didn't affect his game at all. After a few awkward moves, he was able to adjust to the extra pairs of eyes watching the _goban_. Today, however, was the day that they finally started commenting audibly about his _Go_. That was what made him question his moves and made him think longer than usual.

Today he heard them commenting on his strange moves. He even heard them say that some of them didn't make sense. He had frowned at the comments and started questioning them himself. Did his moves really seem that troubling and insignificant? Then did his _Go _really did not improve at all during the past couple of weeks? He shook his head to get rid of his thoughts. He would just ask Shikamaru-_sensei_ about it tomorrow morning.

Stepping inside the house, he gulped as he came face to face with his gentle yet glaring mother. He had told them he would be back by lunchtime, or at the latest around three in the afternoon. Glancing at the clock, he gulped further as he noticed it to be around five in the afternoon. He mentally cursed those old geezers that were watching him as he softly mumbled an "I'm home".

'Home Hikaru? Why I thought that you were supposed to be here by three?' the glare intensified, but the voice came out in quite a gentle way. That made it oh so much scarier.

'I got caught up in soccer?' Hikaru sounded completely unsure, which caused his mother to intensify her look even further. Shindou Hikaru had never even known that such a feat was possible.

'You have a lot of nerves not calling to say you were going to be late mister! And where exactly are you going in the mornings till late in the afternoon?' this caused Hikaru to look at her in confusion. Did she spot him near the shopping district when he went out to get something to eat? No, he made sure he was covered up and walk in a clandestine manner.

Seeing the confused look her son was giving him, 'Your friends came by and asked to see for a game of soccer' he mentally cursed his friends at that. He quickly had to think of something. What would his _sensei_ do? No, that would be a bad idea. Calling his mother a troublesome woman would surely get him grounded again.

'I… uh…' he stammered, as his mother's eyes seemed to look into his very soul. He knew he couldn't hide it anymore. It seemed that Shikamaru was right again. "Never, ever, hide things from women Hikaru. Especially mothers because they are the worst of the bunch. Women are, in nature, troublesome and they will be even more so if they find out you are hiding things from them" was the exact thing the pineapple haired man had said.

'Troublesome woman' he muttered, completely agreeing with Shikamaru-_sensei_.

'You, young man, are going to show me where you go tomorrow' that was even worse than being grounded. His mother was going to find out and it might enter the gossip vine. "You will be lucky to find a woman that does not enter the gossip vine. They tend to babble on and on to people when they find information of interest. The stuff they say to their friends is soon passed down until everyone from a single point knows" he just hoped that his mother would do him the favour of not sharing his secret to anyone.

'Good, now go do your chores' Hikaru grumbled in defeat and replied, 'Yes mother' mentally adding a "troublesome woman".

He honestly didn't mind doing chores anymore. It used to take him forever to finish a chore since he always mentally complained about it. However, ever since he started thinking while doing his work, he had noticed that he was completing his chores faster than before.

Since Hikaru didn't have his own _goban_, he would always have to go to his grandfather if he wanted to recreate a game he played against his _sensei_. After a week of his training, he didn't even know why they called it training; he was able to start visualizing the board in his mind. It surprised him on how he can memorize every single move that was played. He was also able to store all of those games in his mind.

Exact moves played and moves that could have been played. That had surprised him too no end, but he quickly dismissed the thought. After all, it gave him something to think of during times when he was completely bored.

He began his chores and started replaying the games he had played against Shikamaru-_sensei_ today. Not noticing the strange looks his mother was giving him. Yes, tomorrow, she would find out what was going on in her son's life. She had been cleaning his room during his outing and had found his tests during the past week. She was quite surprised to see such grades coming from Hikaru.

Yes, tomorrow she would find out. Something was going on with Hikaru and she wanted to know what. Such a positive thing should not have been kept secret from her. She wanted to know what had made such a positive impact on her son and she was downright going to encourage him to continue whatever it was. That is if it wasn't illegal. Shaking her head, the matriarch of the house went on to cook dinner…

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'_Sai, I worry that you have forgotten the joys of playing Go with all of your losses these past few weeks' the pineapple haired man said as he looked at the sad expression plastered on his student's face. He had noticed the strange behaviour Sai was exhibiting and it was troublesome. He had to deal with it as soon as possible._

'_It's just I don't see how my Go is improving if, after all this time, I still can't defeat you' Shikamaru mentally sighed. Why was it that kids always went through this phase? No matter, he had to deal with it soon, but how would he deal with it? _

_Chuckling mentally to himself, he gestured for the boy to follow him. Sai just looked on in confusion before doing so. Mind still stuck on whether or not his Go was actually improving. Shikamaru took a glance at the boy's pondering face. Today would be a day that Sai would cherish the most. He needed to see that his Go was completely above most people and what better way than to show him that than to place him against a complete beginner?_

_After a few minutes of walking, the two arrived at a house. Shikamaru knocked on the door and soon it was opened to reveal a young girl. She looked to be around the same age as Sai and had shoulder length brown hair. Her confused gaze soon turned to one of happiness as she saw the pineapple haired man._

'_Shikamaru-sensei!' she exclaimed happily as she tackled his leg. The pineapple haired man mumbled a "troublesome woman" before patting her head._

'_Sai-kun, meet Shana-chan' _

_Hikaru dreamt that night, he dreamt of white and black stones dancing awkwardly with each other. Strange moves were performed by the black stones. That, in consequence, caused the white stones haphazardly try to move alongside the black stones._

_Confused and unaware that these dreams sometimes reflected his now everyday life, he dreamt of the ongoing awkward battle going on the board. Trying, at the same time, to figure out the weird harmony that was taking place within the mess on the goban…_

… … … … … … … … … …

**AN:** Chapter three done and I apologize for the slow update. After New Years, I had these random thoughts for other fics that had to be written down somewhere. Then I started reading Love Hina stories and I was sorely disappointed in the lack of KeiMot ships out there.

Therefore, I decided to write a Love Hina story as well, something more serious than Love Hina gave us. I just need to get back into the Akamatsu-verse to get a good feeling about stuff again, especially for Love Hina so I can get their characters down properly.

Anyways, on to this story. Yes, for those who are wondering, Akari _will_ be an important character in this fic. Furthermore, chapter four will be held back for a while until I get that Love Hina story started. It's been plaguing my mind for the past weeks and I'm getting tired of the whole Naruto fandom. Then again, I've started getting tired of it after the whole Sasuke retrieval arc.

On the good news, I have half of chapter four already done and it'll be more insights on Hikaru questioning his ability and a bit more Akari-centric. As I said, she's going to be important.

That'll be it for now. Questions about whether Hikaru is Sai's reincarnation or what not, well… I'm not going to say much on that. Scattered is defined as occurring or distributed over widely spaced and irregular intervals in time or space; "scattered showers"; "scattered villages" or confused: lacking orderly continuity; "a confused set of instructions"; "a confused dream about the end of the world"; "disconnected fragments of a story"; "scattered thoughts".

For you people to figure out. Oh and the whole Naruto thing? It's not that prevalent. I just needed a figurehead for Hikaru's and Akari's trainer. I didn't feel like making an OC so I figured so I'd borrow someone from Naruto.


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